For what it's worth, I've just spent 4 months operating 320's out of Cluj, in northern Romania.
The city is a pleasure to live in, the living costs are very reasonable, the people are very friendly and the vast majority speak an extremely high standard of English.
Not once did anyone try to rip me off or attempt any other unpleasantness(!). The countryside is beautiful and best seen on a mountain bike (or a FireBlade :-).
I have heard that Bucharest is nothing special to live in but that could be said of a lot of capital cities. It's worth keeping an open mind and actually experiencing these places as they are now - don't let stereotypes put you off.